RUSSIAN TYCOON SLASHED IN FACE

Imprisoned Russian tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky was slashed in the face by another inmate early Friday, one of his attorneys, Yuri Schmidt, told Echo Moskvy radio Saturday.

A statement posted on Khodorkovsky's Web site said his attacker "cut his face with a cobbler's knife. When the aggressor's belongings were subsequently searched, an ordinary knife and a razor blade were discovered."

Prison authorities played down the incident. One official told the Russian news agency Interfax that an inmate "scratched Khodorkovsky's nose" during a quarrel.

Khodorkovsky, founder of the once-mighty Yukos Oil Co., is serving an eight-year sentence for his conviction last year on fraud, embezzlement and tax evasion charges. His prosecution was dogged by accusations that it was a Kremlin-orchestrated attempt to crush a potential political opponent.

The prime assets of the Yukos, including some of Russia's richest oil fields, were acquired by a state-controlled company, and Yukos, now a shadow of its former self, continues to face state charges that it owes billions in back taxes.

Khodorkovsky, 42, is imprisoned in the remote Chita region of Siberia near the border with China. His attorneys and wife have complained about the location, saying it was chosen to heighten his isolation and make it more difficult for him to communicate with the outside world.

Khodorkovsky has been put in solitary confinement twice for alleged infractions of prison regulations, including the possession of documents on the rights of prisoners and for drinking tea in an unauthorized place.

Once the richest man in Russia, Khodorkovsky reportedly woke up in pain early Friday with his face covered in blood. He received stitches at the prison clinic, according to the statement.

Another of his attorneys, Natalya Terekhova, said Khodorkovsky was stabbed in the nose.

Prison officials said the incident occurred after Khodorkovsky had an argument with another inmate, who was placed in solitary confinement after the attack.

"The investigation is still under way, but what actually happened was likely a conflict in which the young convict scratched Khodorkovsky's nose," a prison service official told Interfax.